Five Things

J Berd performs on Saturday. The photo is brought to you by the wonderful Chris Sands.

So. Happy Week-After-Labor-Day-Weekend. What did you do? Did you check out the Downtown Frederick Partnership’s dog-tastic First Saturday events? Did you grab a tent and find a pocket of woods to sleep in for a few days? Did you head to the Kennedy Center for this awesome thing it has going on?

Or, did you drop by our Block Party on Saturday?

Hopefully, it was the latter. And if it was, we thank you with all of our silly, little hearts. That’s why we thought we’d run this quick recap of how things went, as we have been known to do in the past, by breaking things down into a list of five. There was a lot of fun going on at the 200 East Art Haus. Now, it’s time to put it to bed. Thus, behold five things we learned from our Block Party on Sept. 5.

1. Who says there isn’t any quality hip-hop in this town? We’re not sure, but if there is anyone who has said as much, Saturday night shouted that nonsense down. We were particularly excited to catch the sets from Stitch Early and Retro/Ricole Barnes (if only because we’ve reviewed their records on this very website), but man. Everyone else who grabbed the mic stepped the h-e-double-hockey-sticks up and put on a show that will be remembered for a long, long time. Substantial and YU, as co-headliners, brought their A-Game and a big shout out goes to J Berd for rounding up all the artists in the first place. We said, “Grab the best local talent you got and let’s try to get them all on that stage,” and he more than delivered. What an amazing crop of MCs this area has. If you missed it, you missed out.

2. The Milestones. We absolutely loved meeting those guys for the first time, and they even impressed us when things went wrong (that was quite the fun jam we heard no less than one song into their set as the band’s leader broke his guitar string). We couldn’t have asked for anything more from them, and we can only hope they had as good of a time playing as we did listening. For more on the band, you can check out their Facebook page here, or, for that matter, there’s this nice little article that you can read here. We’d love to have them back someday. And we’d love for you all to hear them.

3. The 72 Film Fest. In case you missed it, those fine dudes showcased some of their best locally produced clips to kick off the event, and it was an absolute joy to work with them. Their festival will get into gear during the weekend of our first-ever Frederick Fall Fest, but we’re working with them on a way to make sure everyone who wants to experience both events can be satisfied (we hope!). Either way, we want to make sure that everyone knows how important it is to support what they have going on. With fingers crossed and a lot of hope, we’re looking forward to working with them again, once we figure out how 2016 looks for that building.

4. Roy Ghim. Hey, did you catch “Ex-Machina?” If you did, you have the indomitable Roy Ghim and his Western Machines imprint to thank for coordinating that part of the afternoon. That was his idea, his work, his time, his everything that went into it. If there was anything we could link to right now, we would, but … well, he doesn’t have anything. Still, if you see that guy on the street, please be sure to give him a huge hug and a pat on the back for all the work he put into his portion of Saturday’s Block Party. The hug will be well-deserved.

5. And, of course, as always, YOU! We completely understand that Labor Day weekend is not the most ideal time to put on an event, but somewhat miraculously, there were a whole lot of people who showed up to support not just the 200 East Art Haus, but more importantly, the local hip-hop community, as well as locally curated films. Of the events that we’ve put on so far, Saturday’s was the one that catered most to the spirit of the idea behind the building: All aspects of Frederick art coming together under one roof. That next one up is the last one Frederick Playlist will be organizing in 2015, but it’s a doozy. You’ve heard about it by now, right? The Frederick Fall Fest. J Roddy Walston and The Business. Heavy Lights. Old Indian. Seaknuckle. Saturday, October 10. We’re looking to end 2015’s 200 East Art Haus schedule with a bang. Won’t you help us?

Five Things We Learned From 9/5 was last modified: September 8th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

You know what sucks? When you’re losing your hair, you’re only 31 years old, you’re whiter than a bed-sheet factory, and you stand out in the sun all day. Yes. Some of us are at the age where we must start putting sun block on our bald spots. But that’s neither here nor there. Instead, let’s recap Saturday with our never-annual list of five things we learned from the day’s festivities. Because sometimes there’s a battle of the bands, and sometimes you need to be reminded that Sticktime is only one word. Let’s go!

1. Wow, were we honored to host Giraffes? Giraffes!. As we alluded to earlier this morning, those guys can play. It was as though time stopped for an hour and everyone just lost themselves in whatever sounds were coming from the stage. You can’t not pay attention to those guys whenever they perform. It’s magnetic. Couple that with the always-intriguing and ever-so-great greatness of Time Columns and Kabob-O-Taj, and what you had was a night of music that anyone who was there ought to remember for a long time to come. Can’t say enough about the pure musicianship that was in that room Saturday night. We are so, so thankful those dudes were kind enough to choose a place like 200 East to play.

2. A battle to the death. OK, well not really. But you get it. A huge, huge thanks to Special Delivery, Freddie Long, Sticktime, Hard Swimmin’ Fish and The Few for stopping by to make their case as Frederick’s Best Of The Best (and an especially honest apology to The Few for having to cut their set a few minutes short – it’s a long story, fellas, but we hope you don’t hate us!). Remember: You can still vote for whomever you want this week, but voting will be closed before you know it. Oh, and did we mention that if you vote, you’re entered into a drawing to win $500?!? Look at that – everyone wins!

3. Don’t forget the art! Ever. Really. Honestly. Don’t forget the art. There’s an amazing gallery in that front room that you really ought to check out each and every time you walk into that building. Special on Saturday was a henna artist, some super neat glass art (that may or may not be designed for other recreational uses), and a nice man who came in and live-painted. We encourage everyone who has an artistic side to reach out. We’d love to help out as many local projects as we can, so, as Bill Withers would say, use us up. It’s been a joy to see so many different representations of so much local art in the past month. Let’s keep it up!

4. Getting by with a little help … . We said this the last time, but it’s worth repeating again: Gosh, it’s heart-warming to see how tightly knit this music community can be. In the crowd Saturday night, we saw members of Jack Funk, The Knolly Moles, Heavy Lights, Seaknuckle, Big Hoax, Silent Old Mtns. and more. Andrew from the Mtns. and Joe from Seaknuckle helped keep the bar organized. Luke from Big Hoax stuck around to help clean up. All the bands were so respectful of the venue. Nobody accidentally called 911 from the women’s bathroom this time. And, of course, there was silly string. Words don’t express how thankful we are for all of it. Which, of course, leads us to …

5. You guys are the best. It still blows our collective mind to see the amount of support that exists for the local music scene here in Frederick, Maryland. Both shows have been amazing from a musical standpoint, sure, but the one thing that is unwavering in its presence is the energy that hundreds of people in that room can bring. There’s such an acute feeling of … something. Something that’s indescribable. But it’s infectious. And it doesn’t ever happen without the help of people like you showing up to support the cause (assuming that a) anyone is even reading this in the first place, and b) you showed up to begin with, of course). So, as we said before, HOLY MOTHER OF ART THANK YOU. Next up is Saturday, Sept. 5. We’re going to throw a block party and showcase as much local hip-hop talent as humanly possible. We’ll have more details soon, but for now … how’s that sound? You down? Labor Day weekend? See you there? Let’s hope so.

Five Things We Learned From 8/8 was last modified: August 10th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

The following was written by Cassandra Mullinix. We love her to death and while some of us were taking in Old Indian’s vinyl release show on Saturday, Cassandra was busy mac-rocking-and-rolling her way through Virginia. Below is her recap.

MACRoCK, hosted by WXJM out of Harrisonburg, Virginia, is consistently the best little music festival that you could spend your money on. If I had my own award for music festivals, I’d give it something like the J.K. Rowling underdog award for all the once-undiscovered bands that have played there, who are now making big names for themselves. It’s the place to catch great bands on the rise to national status.

Do you like college towns? Do you like college radio stations? Do you like the area’s best local bands? Those are three reasons — at the very least — why you should put MACRoCK 2016 on your calendar next year. Now, here are five more why MACRoCK is most excellent.

1. All of your friends play there. Whether you’re from Shepherdstown, West Virginia, Washington D.C., or Philadelphia, you are bound to see some homies at MACRock. We rocked out with our local friends Goodwolf, New God, Rozwell Kid, Wish List, and RHIN (in no specific order) and totally had a great time getting to know some D C. bands like The Sea Life and Paperhaus.

2. Bikes and bands. Need I say more? No, but I will anyway since I’m here writing and all. MACRoCK happens at the perfect time of year to knock the winter dust off your bicycle and take it for a spin around the alley ways of downtown Harrisonburg. It’s also the best way to quickly get back and forth between showcases and beat some of the lines at night. Shout out to the great folks at Shenandoah Bicycle Company — I always plan a little time to stop by the shop and talk bikes.

3. Where do you find out what the drink of choice is among bass players? Why, MACRoCK of course! Thanks Eskimeaux for that fun photo of your bass player sipping on a martini (extra olive) on stage. Keep it classy.

4. It’s crowded, but it’s fun crowded. Unlike a lot of festivals, the venues at MACRoCK maintain a sweet spot for capacity. It’s crowded enough to feel like you’re part of something, but not so crowded that if you go get a drink, you fear that you’ll never make it back up front to catch that one band you really want to see. After-parties at Crayola House? Well, that’s a different story.

5. The music and the bands are accessible. There is no great divide of backstages or barriers between fans and bands at MACRoCK. In fact, the closer the two are together, the more fun the experience. Go nuts! Tell the lead singer about your cheesy story of when you first heard their songs and instantly felt connected to the band. Or draw silly sketches of the band and have each of the band members sign the drawing. Whatever. It’s a music festival for you. It’s a music festival for the fans.

There were a lot of bands to see during the two day event that is MACRoCK. We wish we could have seen even more of the great bands on the lineup, but we were entirely grateful and satisfied to see performances by the folks listed below.

Wish List

Trophy Wives

Rozwell Kid

Paperhaus

Elvis Depressedly

Stephen Lee

Tucker Riggleman (Bishops)

Tyler Grady (Goodwolf)

John R Miller (Fox Hunt)

Kenny Tompkins (New God)

Wailin Storms

The Sea Life

Quilt

RHIN

Uncle Bengine and The Restraining Orders

Eskimeaux

Told Slant

Crying

Five Things We Learned From MACRoCK 2015 was last modified: April 9th, 2015 by fnpdigital

We didn’t. Not in our wildest dreams did we believe the first-ever Frederick Music Showcase would go like that. Maybe it would go all right, we thought. Best-case scenario, a few hundred people would show up. It would be fun. It would be a nice foundation to (hopefully) do more somewhere down the line.

But that? A crowded lobby? A cake with the Frederick Playlist logo? Selling out of Monocacy Brewing beer within about three-and-a-half minutes of doors opening? Ovations that weren’t just heard but felt both before and after each band hit the stage? A gaggle of excitement pouring from the Weinberg walls? Doubling our goal in ticket sales?

That? Nope. No way.

Yet here we are, precisely 11 days removed from our inaugural Frederick Music Showcase, and we’re still reeling from the support this amazing community offered through it all. Our breath has been taken and our expectations have been blown to smithereens. Of course, we could probably offer up about 10,000 things that we took away from Thursday, February 19, 2015, but for now, we’ll settle on five. Let’s go.

1. Thank you. No, but really. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The importance of the support of the Frederick community within all this cannot, by any stretch of any imagination, be overstated. That event doesn’t work if there aren’t great local bands who write great original music. That event doesn’t work if there isn’t a loyal audience who braved the frigid air on a Thursday night to see those bands play. And that event doesn’t work if John Healey at the Weinberg Center doesn’t give us the chance to come in and put on a show. We can only hope that this will go down as the first of many, but for now, the most important sentence is this: There’s no way this happens if nobody cared, and as this wonderful local arts community proved, people cared.

2. A shout to the sponsors. Because, duh. Monocacy Brewing and Linagnore Winecellars provided locally bred adult beverages that were sipped up like water in a desert. JoJo’s Tap House and Bushwaller’s were excellent businesses to work with through it all, and hopefully everyone found time to stop at both of those fine establishments at some point throughout the night. And, of course, the great Anthony Owens, as our presenting sponsor, couldn’t have been more gracious and helpful as it all came together. These were the people who believed in us and believed in this event and took a chance on associating themselves with this concert. Our gratitude goes far beyond words.

3. And how about the bands?! So, who else was wondering how Hard Swimmin’ Fish’s blend of old-time blues might sound in an old-time theater? Or, maybe how loud The Knolly Moles could get? Or, how full Heavy Lights could make the Weinberg stage feel? Or, how rockin’ and rollin’ Old Indian might appear in such a grand setting? So many people came up to us through the night as various bands were performing, talking about how much of a difference a great mix can make when consuming live music. “Wow, Old Indian sounds great on this stage!” was one sentence we heard. “Heavy Lights are amazing!” others proclaimed. “It’s so great to see Hard Swimmin’ Fish here, finally!” it was said. “The Knolly Moles are … well … loud!” concertgoers revealed. For us, it was a treat to see these fantastic talents fully realized, all in a local setting. Oh, and that music you heard in the lobby between bands? That was the great Todd C. Walker, who was kind enough to stop by and play some acoustic tunes on the second floor as the bands switched over. Gotta love that guy, right? Right.

4. The Weinberg crew. This one has to be said: All those guys running the operation over there, behind the scenes? Boy, are they good. The sound/stage/lighting/everything crew was a joy to work with on every level. There’s no real good reason they should have been as nice as they were to a group of a-hole-punk-kids (and the respectable grown men of Hard Swimmin’ Fish, of course) coming in to try and put on a show in the city’s most prestigious venue, but, man: Those guys deserve a Medal of Honor for how patient and helpful and kind they were to all of us. Cheers, guys!

5. So, now what? Well, isn’t that a good question. We have a few things in mind that we are working on for the near future, and, believe it or not, it’s already March, which means the festival season will be starting up again soon, so there’s that. But at the end of the day, this is what we say: Events, Schmevents. We are here to help bring this music community together, and while the biggest illustration of that might have come in the form of the Frederick Music Showcase, we still have a responsibility to do our part in keeping the momentum moving forward in Frederick’s music scene. This, of course, cannot be achieved alone. It’s not even a possibility without the help of everyone coming together in the way we all did last Thursday. Sure, it might have been a very nice first step, but at the end of the day, that’s all it is: A first step. There’s still so much left to do to help cultivate these artists and give them a platform to be heard by as many ears as possible, making the world realize that you don’t necessarily have to travel to Baltimore or D.C. or anywhere else, really, to soak up some great original music. Frederick can provide that. Frederick does provide that. OK. Enough preaching. Now check out another video from the Showcase!

Five Things We Learned From The Frederick Music Showcase was last modified: March 2nd, 2015 by Colin McGuire

OK. We know it’s been a handful of days since we packed up shop at Flying Dog for the summer, but that doesn’t mean we can’t offer one last recap of all the fabulousness that appearing at the brewery can bring. Thus, behold the following five things we learned from Saturday’s Real Estate/Heavy Lights show on Flying Dog’s front lawn. Because you can only make so many people promise to visit your website before you begin to realize, “Well, maybe we should write something on that website.” Duh. OK. Let’s go.

1. Can’t say this enough, but those dudes in Heavy Lights are some of our favorite people in the entire world (and at least four other planets). Not only was it great to catch up with Ryan and Chris and Derek and Colin and Brian, but it was also great to see how far they’ve come as a live act. They held the stage with as much charisma as anyone from Real Estate did and they looked just as pretty doing it. There were a few people who stopped by our table to ask where they could pick up some Heavy Lights paraphernalia, and to those people, we say this: Click here. You’ll want to own the album. You’ll need to own the album.

2. Without question, Real Estate was the most subdued band the Flying Dog front lawn saw all summer, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t rock (in their own special way) just as hard. They had a long day and despite arriving just a little bit later than they probably would have preferred, they still showed no signs of letting The Road get them down. So, kudos to them for pushing through and giving the Summer Sessions concert series one final great memory of 2014.

3. Koozies! We’re all out! No, but really. We printed a whole bunch-ton of them (somewhere in the four-figures) and between June, July, August and September, they are all gone. As in, kaput. Goodbye. Done-so. We started with the black. Then we went to orange. And now we have nothing. Thus, the question needs to be asked: Which color would you guys like next? There’s a comments section here, and there are also these two things called The Twitter and The Facebook. So, let us know, if you feel so inclined.

4. We’d be remiss if we didn’t send a virtual, huge-hearted THANK YOU to the people at Flying Dog, who allowed us to hang out all summer. There was a lot of wind, a little bit of rain, tons of sunshine, a whole brewery’s worth of rawk (with a “w”), and so much fun that mere words could never do the summer justice. When we started this thing at the beginning of June (more on that next week), we were just some brand new website run by a guy who is losing his hair that had no business being embraced by such a gigantically fantastic imprint as Flying Dog. But the people there allowed us to set up a table and introduce some bands every now and then, and for that, we will forever and ever and ever and ever and always and always and always and always be indebted. If a website could kiss a brewery, consider this that.

5. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t at least touch on hip-hop night, which also happened to be Saturday night, after the Flying Dog festivities ended. The problem? Yeah, some of us ran into a curb and got a flat tire. So, while we had all the good intentions in the world … well, for the most part, they’ll probably have to wait now until the end of this month to be fully realized. Yes, we eventually made it there, but there was no making up for precisely how obnoxious getting a flat tire in downtown Frederick can be at 10:30 on a Saturday night. You’ll have to forgive us.

In any case (and one more time for good measure), again: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you and THANK YOU (notice the all-caps) to the wonderful people at Flying Dog for letting us come out and enjoy this summer with you. If you missed the music, you missed out. And you missed out A BUNCH (again, with the caps). To anyone who stopped by and humored some weird guy with a handful of koozies standing at a table (with a bunch of other fantastically helpful hands here and there) … well, we hope your one visit to www.frederickplaylist.com wasn’t a disappointment and maybe we can barter for a visit No. 2? Fingers crossed.

Five Things We Learned From The Final Flying Dog Show was last modified: October 1st, 2014 by Colin McGuire

Baltimore, Hon! Yes. We love that this just-right-sized festival is nestled away within the city limits of Baltimore, and The Shindig certainly provided a sense of place. Between freak shows, bird and babe stages, hot rods, and crab pretzels, 24/7 Entertainment did a fantastic job of sprucing up Carroll Park with a little bit of old school rock and roll on Saturday. Here’s what we walked away with:

1. Being a teenage rock star just means that you have more energy than everybody else. Bad Seed Rising did not disappoint and they took every opportunity to engage their audience like every good rock star should. It was pretty awesome to see a group of teenagers so dedicated to rocking out.

2. How can a J Roddy Walston and The Business performance possibly be any more fun? Add Mr. Boh and the O’s Bird. That’s how. If the crowd wasn’t already having a really good time during the up-and-coming hometown heroes set, the surprise stage crash by Mr. Boh and the O’s Bird surely got them smiling from ear to ear. Let’s go O’s!

3. Marylanders love their Clutch. In fact there were many people who wanted Clutch to headline over Jane’s Addiction. Would you agree? Clutch had a beautiful sunset show and a sea of familiar fans in front of them, which seemed perfect to us.

4. Jane says. Returning rock veterans Jane’s Addiction took the late-night stage, which seemed to be a better conduit for all of Perry Farrell’s charm and Dave Navarro’s bodily perfection anyway. Another Jane’s Addiction highlight was the addition of Angelo Moore from Fishbone on sax during “Idiots Rule.”

5. You will never say the word “Wow” more times than when watching a Gogol Bordello set. We expected the Gogol Bordello crew to get the crowd all riled up, but it’s something you can’t fully appreciate until you witness it live. There’s an alternate world created between the raw gypsy punk-rock energy of Eugene and the crew on stage and the entranced crowd that allows for amazingly unexpected opportunities. It was a beautiful moment when Eugene hopped off stage and balanced on top of the barricade gate with his acoustic guitar slung across his back while leading a chorus chant, looking at the many arms extended from the crowd. You had to be there.

Five Things We Learned From The Shindig was last modified: October 1st, 2014 by fnpdigital

So … did you see us? Did you see some guy with a weird hat and an un-needed blazer with a Frederick Playlist T-shirt underneath introduce some bands? Did you come say hi? Did we give you a beer koozie? Did you laugh? Did you cry? Did you … have an umbrella?

In The Street came and went this weekend, and we would be remiss if we didn’t bring it up. Bouncing around from stage to stage, making new friends while catching up with old ones, it was a hell of an afternoon (and a hell of an exhausting afternoon, but that’s neither here nor there). Because Five Things is pretty much our move these days, here’s what we learned:

1. Holy cow, Market Street is long. Like. Holy. Cow. Market. Street. Is. Long. When you have to introduce Mayweather at the Carroll Creek Amphitheater at 3:15 and somehow make it over to the Going Green Block Beer & Wine Garden next to Olde Towne Tavern to introduce The Jug Band at 3:30 … yikes. Making things harder was the revelation that Frederick is a town filled with slow-walkers. Which is fine and all, if you don’t need to sprint 4,921 blocks in 10 minutes. But we digress. In fact, we still even had some energy left in us to head over to the fairgrounds for this.

2. Have you checked out our YouTube page recently? We have a gaggle of videos up from this weekend (thanks to Ms. Rachel S. Karas) and they are most certainly worth your time. Among the artists featured are Mayweather, The Jug Band, The Frederick Catoctones, Higher Hands (above, and more on them in a second), and Jeremy McComb. If nothing else, you can check out how rainy everything was. Yet feat not, because … .

3. … The rain eventually subsided and we got to see for the first time precisely how popular In The Street is. Sure, it wasn’t until after we were soaking wet due to the running and the rain, but even so: There’s no denying how affecting this thing continues to be when it comes to this fine city of Frederick, Maryland. Once the sun was out, the crowd doubled (if not tripled) and everybody – everybody – appeared to be having a pretty great time. If you weren’t there, you missed out.

4. While it was great to see some familiar faces – any day you run into Mark from Old Indian, Matt and E.J. from The Knolly Moles and the dudes in Twin Radio is a good day – we left the event oozing with admiration for a few of the bands we caught for the first time. First was the de facto farewell-from-Frederick show that Carousel Rogues offered up to kick off the festivities. Having never met or listened to them before, it sure was sad to hear that they are on their way to Nashville now. Lovely, lovely people. Then, there was The Jug Band, who is hands-down the funniest band Frederick has (especially the bass player, who didn’t not remind us of Bill Murray in some weird way). Eclipsing everybody else, though, was our introduction to Annapolis’ Higher Hands, who sit right up top with Brooks Long & The Mad Dog No Good among our favorite local-ish bands. Oh, boy, are they good. Oh, boy, are they good. So good, in fact, that some of us even offered to help the drummer out when his kick-drum beater went ka-put during the band’s opening song. We left believing this, wholeheartedly: If we see the name Higher Hands on a marquee, we’re there.

5. Now, what’s a great festival if you can’t cap it off with a solid night of entertainment (sans a Brantley Gilbert concert, of course)? Nothing, we say! Nothing! That’s why we dipped over to Cafe Nola Saturday night to check out Seaknuckle for the first time, and wow, were they impressive. Checking out a Seaknuckle show is sort of like getting punched in the face for an hour-and-a-half and it is amazing. Better yet was the company – it’s always a good night when you can talk drums with Chris from Heavy Lights and watch his singer Ryan bop from person to person, being the charming devil that he is. The only mishap? We weren’t able to make it in time to check out Blind Man Leading. There’s always another night, though, friends. There’s always another night.

Five Things We Learned From In The Street was last modified: September 15th, 2014 by Colin McGuire

1. J Roddy and crew are super friendly. The band was not at all crowd-shy on Saturday. Many concert goers took the opportunity to snag photos and chat with band members while they were milling around the Flying Dog grounds. The band’s accessibility was definitely rewarded with an upbeat crowd through their entire beautifully raucous set full of classics as well as new tracks.

2. Steve Colmus once interned at the Chesapeake Bay Program. Fan signs are the absolute best at concerts. They can be informative and entertaining! Our favorite at this show was a group of folks who carried a sign with the words “CBP Loves Steve Colmus.” The backstory was that J Roddy’s drummer, Steve Colmus, once interned at the Chesapeake Bay Program in Annapolis, proving drummers are usually smarter than what they are given credit for.

3. Sometimes there are more beers to taste than you are capable of tasting. A classic Flying Dog dilemma: There are just way too many deliciously flavored beers to try in one show’s length of time and still walk away standing. Solutions: Go to multiple Summer Concert Series shows! Bring multiple friends and leave your germ-o-phobe tendencies at the gate! Some of the great specialty brews on tap included Bloodline Blood Orange (with “cocoa power,” everyone’s favorite typo of the day.), Dead Rise, Lemongrass Rice Ale, and making its first appearance of the fall season, the classic Dogtoberfest. So, those are four reasons alone not to miss the last Flying Dog show of the summer on Sept. 27 with Real Estate!

4. Old Indian is best heard on a big stage. Turn those amps to 11 boys because that’s THE only way to really listen to Old Indian. Our local dudes ripped up the big stage with a tight, monstrously fun rock set that included a very legit rendition of the classic “Fight For Your Right” by The Beastie Boys. Seeing Old Indian on the big stage gives you a full appreciation for the band’s sound, which often gets a little lost when they squeeze themselves into the small venues around town.

5. Orange Frederick Playlist beer koozies are all the rage. Nothing keeps your Flying Dog beers cooler than the Frederick Playlist beer koozie and it’s no secret. Those orange bad boys disappear quickly after the gates open, so next time you’re at a Flying Dog Summer Concert Series show, make sure you stop by the table and pick one up.

Five Things We Learned From The J Roddy Walston Flying Dog Show was last modified: August 25th, 2014 by fnpdigital

We were so grateful to be part of this year’s Hot August Music Festival. It was certainly one for the record books, this being the 22nd consecutive installment of the event. Here are five fantastic things we discovered at this year’s festival:

1. There’s not a bad seat in the house. Go ahead and sit, stand, or dance wherever fate lands you. There’s plenty of front row real estate along the main stage barrier to scoop up on, but if you want to spread out a little, the jumbo-tron and gently upward-sloping field at Oregon Ridge Park are extremely conducive to some great views. I made my way up to the “cheap seats” at the end of the night and thoroughly enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. Even better: The upper field is closer to the beer stands! And if you want to throw some real excitement into the mix, you might try reverting back to your seven-year-old self and roll down the slope as a few folks did during Nickel Creek! Festival-goers were pretty chill over at the two side stages and it was entirely possible to maneuver into your own personal sweet spot.

2. Even when it’s not hot, it’s hawt. It wasn’t quite as hot as in years past, which made this year an exceptionally awesome Hot August Music Festival on top of all the hawt, hawt, hawt headliners the event boasted. There were so many highlights every hour between stages, it’s hard to single out a few. Certainly, the main headliner, Old Crow Medicine Show, did not disappoint and played a rowdy Baltimore-themed set where even Mr. Boh got down to Ketch Secor’s fiddle. Nickel Creek provided the oohs and ahhs from a musicianship perspective. Dr. Dog took no prisoners and rocked the midafternoon crowd, as if to say “welcome to the party” to all the late comers who had just finished trickling in. And highlights from the side stage included Cabinet and Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds, who both had an absolutely wild party raging over at the tree-lined end of the festival grounds.

3. Every band gets more than 15 minutes of fame on stage. Hot August Music Fest is without doubt one of those festivals that’s really about the music and the bands. Main stage performers were given two-hour set times and side stage performers enjoyed one-and-a-half hour sets. Houndmouth wasn’t quite sure what to do with their two hours because they have only one album to date. Still, they managed to keep the main stage rocking by relying on a few tricks up their sleeve, including taking cover-song requests from the audience. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the lengthy set times came in handy for Turkuaz whose gear was held up in traffic and did not arrive until 10 minutes after their set time was supposed to begin.

4. Brad Selko can sing and play the harmonica. Founder. President. Director of Hot August Music Festival. Whatever you want to call Brad Selko, at least call him awesome for jumping on stage with Old Crow Medicine Show during a grand finale song.

5. A one-day festival can actually feel like a legitimate festival. Festivals are known for having that sense of reprieve, that vacation-like feeling of getting away from it all. That’s a feeling that’s hard to accomplish in one day and in a location just north of Baltimore City, but the Hot August Music Festival pulled it off pretty well. The event does a really good job of creating a self-contained, own-little-bubble-world of fun where even the kids are entertained (between hat making with Tattered Hatters and harmonica lessons with musicians, your kids can enjoy the festival as much as you might). There’s plenty of room to explore, and many food and beverage choices are at your fingertips. There are no worries once you’re in the gate.

Five Things We Learned From The Hot August Music Festival was last modified: August 18th, 2014 by fnpdigital

The Joann Garrett Classic is an annual heartfelt event to raise money for local cancer charities. This year’s event was much more intimate than in years past, but there were still some wisely generous donors who bought the $40 tickets and enjoyed some big name acts at the Frederick Fairgrounds’ e-ventplex, along with some great local barbecue and beer. Here’s a list of five things we learned from the fabulous ninth installment of the JoAnn Garrett Classic!

1. The BOA still do their own thing and rock at it! The Best Opening Act, otherwise known as The BOA, still hold the honor of Frederick’s most aloof band since their beginnings in 2000. A band willed purely by their desire to play original music over the last decade and not by popular trends or the desire to get rich and famous, they take an alternative rock approach most akin to a band like Incubus. Ironically, the juxtaposition of The BOA’s hard rocking opening set against the modern pop indie bands to follow seemed to reconfirm the band’s commitment to doing their own thing.

2. Sports memorabilia auctions and live concerts are a great way to raise funds for local cancer charities. The totals are still being tallied, but donors who attended were rewarded big with a bidding table a mile long filled with sports memorabilia while they listened to a peppy mix of local and national touring bands. We picked up an Al Brumby-autographed replica Orioles helmet!

3. A tom-tom drum will make your band more awesome. So, what did our performing guests Royal Teeth and Youngblood Hawke have in common besides being amazing indie-pop rock bands? That’s right: A tom-tom drum! Both bands gave incredibly energetic performances to an intimate crowd and showed off their tom-tom skills to boot!

4. CarterQue has great … pie! Of course, without doubt, the Mount Airy-based BBQ masters most certainly have great BBQ, but what you might not know is that they have exceptional cherry and apple pie as well. With two pigs on the chopping board and a heap of traditional side dishes, it was your own fault if you left the JoAnn Garrett Classic hungry.

5. Sometimes your bass breaks just before showtime. What do you do when you take your bass guitar out of the case just minutes before you’re supposed to go on stage and it’s not working? In Ghost Hotel’s case, you freak out for one split second, and then find a Plan B (or even C), which might involve having someone drive across town to get your practice bass. The bass mishap was just a blip on the radar for the band, though, and they followed through with a classically charming knock-out set.

Big Thanks to all the dedicated JoAnn Garrett Classic organizers and volunteers for hosting a fabulous all-star event, CarterQue for filling our bellies, and Milk House and Barley and Hops breweries for keeping our whistles wet.

Five Things We Learned From The JoAnn Garrett Classic was last modified: August 4th, 2014 by fnpdigital